September 2010 Canada eNews

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IMBA Canada eNews - September 2010

Planning for Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day is underway across Canada

IMBA will celebrate its sixth annual International Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day[2] on Saturday, October 2, 2010. Although the date is quickly approaching, it’s still not too late to register[2] your event!

Earlier this month, Parks Canada released new mountain biking guidelines for National Parks and other sites -- Expanding the agency’s offer to include technical trail features and bike parks.

According to the guidelines, cross country will still be the principal form of mountain biking offered by Parks Canada; however, national direction is given to help outline where more technical forms of the activity may be offered. Full press release.[16]

Celebrate Parks Contest

To celebrate 125 years of national parks in Canada - and raise further awareness for the parks - the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is inviting you to create a short video about one of Canada's national parks. This is a great opportunity to give exposure to mountain biking in Canada!

Earlier this month, IMBA Canada announced the launch of the Regional Leadership Advisory Council (RLAC) program for BC and Ontario in the fall of 2010.

Canadian RLACs are groups of mountain bike enthusiasts who are committed to growing and educating the network of mountain bikers that support advocacy throughout a region or province. All IMBA Canada affiliated clubs are invited to participate. More info[18].

Thank you to Mountain Equipment Co-op for their support of the RLAC program.

Trek highlights three-year partnership, renews support

Three years ago, Trek Bicycle company announced the 1 World 2 Wheels[19] initiative, including a generous pledge of $10 per mountain bike sold (over $1K retail) to expand IMBA's trailbuilding programs. In the first three years of the program IMBA Canada received well over $60K, and Trek president John Burke recently announced that the Trek/IMBA partnership will continue for at least three more years. Thank you Trek!

In early September, a number of IMBA Canada staff packed their bags and pulaskis to travel to Montreal for the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada's annual trade show-- ExpoCycle[21].

The 150-meter track replaced a demo day at Bromont, which until this year, was part of ExpoCycle's annual festivities. In order to accommodate a range of shiny new demo bikes, from downhill rigs to hybrids, two routes were constructed. The singletrack course was complete with roots, rocks, a skinny and a berm, while the road route featured a more tame sidewalk and bike lane, with a few manhole covers for spice!

Read the full article[22] on the event, and check out photos[20] of the build and completed track.

Trail Care Crew visit request for 2011 now online

Clubs, now is the time to apply for your 2011 IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew visit. Find out more about hosting a visit, and fill out an application online[23]. Deadline is November 30, 2010.